i was following the pack all swaddled in their coats

[singmod]

MAY 2025 EVENT

PROMPT ONE — THE SHUDDERING EARTH: Quake activity in the area, paired with decaying infrastructure, reveals a way for Interlopers to make their way to the coast.

PROMPT TWO — THE LONG ROAD: Interlopers can now embark on the long and dangerous journey to Silverpoint, and make some grim discoveries on the way.

PROMPT THREE — TRY HONESTY: A dream leads to Interlopers being a little more honest with one another, in different kinds of ways.

THE SHUDDERING EARTH

WHEN: Early May, onwards.
WHERE: Everywhere, Carter Hydrodam.
CONTENT WARNINGS: themes of natural disasters; earthquakes; potential avalanches; themes of exploration/survival; potential injuries, potential cold injuries/hyperthermia risk.


Seismic activity is well known within the Northern Territories. Both last year, and over the last month or so, Interlopers have felt intermittent tremors — the ground quaking beneath their feet, enough to upset some objects around homes but never quite enough to cause some serious damage. Interlopers have been fortunate, but the damage caused by these quakes have long left their scars over the years in this world: railroads and roads buckled and crumbled, bridges destroyed and tunnels and pathways caved in, cutting off access. The quakes can cause some serious damage.

Interlopers will find that out in the late evening of one otherwise calm day in May.

Animals will notice the signs of the impending quake before humans do, growing restless and agitated in the hour or so before the shaking starts.

A low tremor that makes items in homes quiver, the ground vibrating beneath your feet. It quickly grows more violent — items can be sent flying if they’re not secured. Light fixtures sway overhead, furniture will shake and topple over, dust and debris could rain down from above — some places worse than others, depending on the building.

Diving for shelter is the best thing to do, out of the way of windows and objects that can fall over. Finding something sturdy to take cover under. The shaking grows intense, especially in the Lakeside area. There is a strange and terrible churning of metal and stone, a crash, something giving way. Roars and crackles of noise.

In Lakeside, where the quake is far more intense, the sound reverberates around the area, but the sound can even be heard so far as in Milton — distant but noticeable. It comes from the direction of the Hydrodam.

The quake is fortunately short-lived and finally dies down. Interlopers will be able to come out of hiding and assess the damage and check on one another for injuries. Within Milton and Lakeside, some buildings that have never been inhabited by Interlopers and remained empty for a long time (and thus in states of disrepair) will be found severely damaged. Water pipes may burst, causing flooding in some unused buildings — ultimately rendering them now useless and uninhabitable.

Generally, it looks like large swathes of the area have come out unscathed — but there is a risk of avalanches in some of the more remote locations near to the mountains. It might take several days for Interlopers to take stock and assess properly, even check further afield.

Interlopers who choose to investigate the Hydrodam will come to find that sections of the dam itself have given way, the metal burst open and water spilling outwards and down the river towards the coast. The huge gorge which separates Lakeside and The Coast is a raging torrent. In time, these waters will eventually calm but it looks like the previously flooded sections of the dam that had meant it was completely inaccessible might be now free to explore with the fact the water had .

The Hydrodam has been in a state of disrepair for some time. Before The Flare, it barely had a skeleton crew running things. Now, with no one to maintain the dam itself following previous quake activity — it looks like this quake has been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Traversing through the dam will reveal that the lower levels are now accessible and can be entered. But Interlopers should take caution: while the lower dam is now free to explore, this section of the dam still contains freezing cold water that can reach knee deep on the average person. What’s worse is these sections are filled with debris: equipment, furniture and even random junk and industrial supplies that had been once stored there. Some are broken, and can can injury to the unsuspecting traveller.

Travelling through the dam through an Aurora would be incredibly dangerous due to damage in the building, with exposed wiring and partially flooded areas not mixing great companions. The utmost care should be taken when exploring and finding the way through, or it may spell trouble.

But what it will lead to is a way out. On the other side of the dam.

And a way out to the coast.

THE LONG ROAD

WHEN: Early May, onwards.
WHERE: Carter Hydrodam, The Coast
CONTENT WARNINGS: themes of exploration/survival; potential injuries, potential cold injuries/hyperthermia risk; corpses; dead npcs.

Coming out and down from the other side of the Hydrodam will bring Interlopers to the destroyed Connector Bridge and onto Coastal Highway — the main road that leads to Silverpoint. There are a few extra outbuildings on this side of the dam which are dry but not particularly comfortable — but it’ll make do in the face of recovering from getting through the dam itself.

But after that? The world is far more open compared to Lakeside and certainly less sheltered than Milton, meaning winds are incredibly biting and difficult to contend with whilst travelling. There is little in terms of cover, and thus Interlopers may need to really plan well in order to keep themselves alive. Hopefully Interlopers have come well prepared for the journey ahead of them.

A great deal of the landscape has been damaged by quakes, making the terrain difficult to navigate: with huge, icy ridges and gorges in the earth and roads — providing ample danger to travellers. But sticking roughly to the road means a straight-forward way down but it will take several days to walk down, given the difficulty.

There is nowhere indoors to shelter on this journey save for a single garage and gas station about half-way through the trek south. Interlopers will need to brave the outdoors, even sleeping out doors or in the shallow, sheltered caves that may be seen just off the road. Interlopers will need to huddle for warmth, keeping an eye on one another to make sure they make it through the night. The gas station will provide decent shelter and warmth, however, and even boasts a few supplies left of food, water and fuel. Some one has definitely been here, but with it being so remote, it’s no wonder it’s generally been left alone.

The reasons why will soon come to light.

On the road down, Interlopers will make grim discoveries: frozen, partially mummified remains of people, half-hidden in the snow and ice. Many of them appear poorly dressed for the journey, and look to have died from hypothermia or some other kind of cold-induced injury. Some may be found as if they had simply collapsed in the snow and died. Others may be found in small groups, huddled and slumped together — having succumbed to the cold. Suitcases and bags will be littered around with them — sometimes luggage will be left abandoned alone, as if someone just gave up carrying it.

Some Interlopers will realise: these are the remains of Milton’s original residents. The ones that made it out of Milton and Lakeside, only to die on the way to the coast. Dozens upon dozens of bodies, making you wonder if anyone ever made it out alive at all.

One long road, a graveyard.


And then, in the distance, where the ocean stretches out before your eyes: the outline of a village can be seen before the land meets the water. Civilisation? People?

As twilight falls, more curiously, a light blinks slowly on the landscape. It may be easier or hard to spot, depending on the time of day. What… is that?

Silverpoint.

TRY HONESTY

WHEN: May and into June.
WHERE: Everywhere.
CONTENT WARNINGS: themes of honesty/forced honesty; potential body horror.

It begins with a dream. You stand in the atrium of a large cave, lit by a large campfire — the smoke drifting out an opening in the cave’s roof above. Someone sits by the fire with their hands covering their face and as you draw closer and closer to the flames, you realise it is a woman who sits on the opposite side of the flames. For some, they will not know who this woman is but some will recognise her: Enola.

She does not speak, does not look at you. She keeps her face hidden behind her hands, almost-childlike as she sits. The light is low but it’s a pleasant, peaceful kind of ambiance — even if Enola’s actions are a little strange, almost troubling. If you listen carefully, you’re almost sure you can quietly hear crying.

Across the campfire, on your own side of it, there are three stones laid out on the floor, each of them carved with a rune of sorts. It’s hard to tell what the runes mean, exactly. They don’t appear to be in any symbolic or runic language you’ve seen before. Even if you don’t understand them, you find yourself drawn to one of these runes.

You move to kneel on the cave floor and you reach forwards. Your hand hovers over it — a strange thrum in the air, like you can feel some kind of energy of vibration coming from it. You reach for the stone, Enola doesn’t move. As you move to pick up the stone, you feel the sharp burning sting of pain—

The dream ends.

You awaken. Not the sharp snapping of sleep to waking. Just the simple, natural waking that comes when one wakes up. But you feel… different somehow.

Honest. But honest, how exactly?

It all depends which rune you picked in your dream.

HEART RUNE: Interlopers who chose this rune will find themselves more emotionally honest. How this manifests is an aura of colour that surrounds the Interloper which will reflect their current emotional state — ie. golden for happy, shades of grey for exhaustion/tiredness, pinks for romantic feelings. The aura is dynamic and can shift with colours and even have multiple colours in play, depending on the complexities of the emotions.

MIND RUNE: Interlopers who chose this rune will find themselves with an honest mind, and will feel compelled to speak it. They are honest with their words: blunt and to the point, avoiding lies or bending truths. They may even feel compelled to reveal things that have been playing on their mind for some time — choosing to clear the air, and potential dirty laundry.

FORM RUNE: Interlopers who chose this rune will find themselves physically honest. Their previous hurts and injuries will become visible on their skin. This can be previous injuries or sicknesses the Interloper has sustained over the course of their life — even if they are now long since healed. It could be a physical manifestation of emotional or mental pain in some way. Your body no longer holds it secrets, they’re now plain and open for the world to see.

FAQs

THE SHUDDERING EARTH

1. Players are free to destroy their own homes/make them uninhabitable if they wish. Please amend the Housing Spreadsheet to reflect this. Commercial/Public buildings are off limits for destruction but players can handwave any other random buildings/empty homes in Milton that have been destroyed in the quake.

2. THE HOT SPRINGS ARE OKAY. Just a little snowed in.

3. The Hydrodam (and it's hot showers) will have seen damage done to it and will require repairs/maintenance.


THE LONG ROAD

1. The Coast is now accessible to all players. Please see this page for further information.

2. Beach.....................

3. As a reminder. It takes about 24 hours to get from Milton to the Carter Hydrodam. Once out of the Dam, travel down to Silverpoint will take a number of days.

4. Three minor NPCs have been introduced! Molly, the owner of The Frozen Angler; her teenage son Jace; and Father Thomas of St Christopher's Church. There will be an opportunity to ask them questions, a top level of which can be found below!

5. Marra will not be open for interactions just yet.

TRY HONESTY

1. The durations of the effects are down to player choice, but will last at a minimum of three days or can last up to a full month or so and even continue into June.

2. The Form Rune's effects are purely cosmetic and will not actively harm the Interloper.

3. The Heart Rune's effects will only be visible to Interlopers.

4. Players can only play with one rune, they cannot choose to go with more than one.

PLOTTING POST

Comments

John Doe | Malevolent (Podcast)

[dies_irate]

The Shuddering Earth

John is in the house when he feels it; his tentacle arm braces against a wall in a doorway entirely by chance and he presses his back against the other side to keep himself upright.

There are many things that he's gotten used to about having (only two) legs and the ground moving beneath him is not one he was prepared for.

Once the shaking stops, the shouting is immediate.

"Arthur?! Noel!? Charles?!"

But suffice to say he'll go checking on anyone he's met before once he knows what's going on and his people are secure.

Discussion of The Long Road - closed to housemates

...John's not sure what this means for them. The discovery of an ocean, of a shore- he knows his partner is a curious sort. He doesn't know how Noel feels about it, but he does see them as a unit, which is why he thinks they need to talk about it.

"So... a beach. There's a beach."

...it's not the most brilliant opening, but he's doing his best.

Discussion of The Long Road - Townsfolk

John has made an effort to be out and about, not to hide away, to make sure that people have seen him and know that he's one of the townsfolk and not something sent by the Darkwalker.

...sometimes it's a very small effort because he doesn't like venturing far from Noel or Arthur much, but he does make that effort, and of course he has to go out occasionally to look for supplies.

Today, though, he goes to the community hall, as much to see if there's any work that needs doing as to find out how people feel about the news of a shore, of a beach, of a new place to be or go. Maybe he's not the best of his group for information gathering, but he's not going to let that stop him.

So if you happen to be discussing it or talking out loud to yourself about that subject in public, you might have a rather large shadow make his way over to you to ask-

"So... what do you think about the whole... shore thing?"

Try Honesty - Red John, Green John, 123

He wakes up from the dream, still unfamiliar with dreaming given this is his second one ever (and he hates it, he still hates it, it's bullshit, garbage, nonsense, the worst, why does he have to do this, he'd like to give this mortal coil back for a refund) glowing bright yellow green with spikes of red.

It makes it pretty goddamn clear how 'this' (whatever the fuck this is) works. As does the fact that the colors change, and thankfully John is pretty fucking blatant with his moods so they establish the rules pretty quick.

As such, you might see him going around, a haze of bluegreen light around him as he goes about his usual business in town. Saying 'hello' in a friendly manner will get you a bright pop of pink.

...really, he probably likes you more than you think as long as your name isn't Dorian Grey.

long road

[desperate_times_right]

Chloe puts it off for as long into the evening as she can so she doesn't have to go out in the sun, but she needs parts for the repairs at the farmhouse, so she does have to venture to the hall.

She's seen this guy around enough that he doesn't make her jump out of her skin like he might otherwise have, but it is weird to be talked at so normally by a creature.

“I can see why people are excited. Everyone was pretty hyped when the path through the mine to Lakeside was first cleared. I think the people thinking we’re getting off this island are a little too optimistic, though.”

Re: long road

[dies_irate]

"I... didn't realize it was an island," he admits, storing that new information away to check with Arthur. It hadn't really come up but he realizes that, before now, there wasn't much reason for it to be terribly important.

"Though I agree with you regarding... optimism. When creatures like the Darkwalks intend to keep people somewhere, a shore is... well," he says thoughtfully, "it may provide new resources, such as fish or salt, but an exit is... unlikely, in my opinion."

A pause before he adds-

"I realize that realism may not be helpful all the time, however. So... my apologies if that was... harsh."

[desperate_times_right]

“There’s a map around here somewhere that Methuselah made for us early on.” Chloe doesn't know where they put the map in the hall these days. On the message board, maybe? “It needs some updates because earthquakes have reopened some of the roads that he'd marked impassable, but it'll give you an idea. Used to be a port town called Silverpoint, before everything went to hell.”

Presumably that's what people are looking for.

“No worries about the realism. I said it first, didn't I?”

[dies_irate]

"R-right."

He's gotten a little better at social interaction, but there's still a considerable learning curve and he's well aware that major gaffes can have consequences. He's not good at anything but being honest, however.

"When you say 'went to hell', do we... know exactly what that means?"

[desperate_times_right]

Chloe shrugs. “Power stopped working, these earthquakes, worse weather, animals going nuts… maybe people too. Out in Lakeside they found a few journals people had kept leading up to it, and it sounds apocalyptic.”

They won't know anything for sure unless some of the people who had left for the coast survived.

[dies_irate]

"And we think the source of this apocalypse was the... Darkwalker?"

He assumes this, but he's also wondering if perhaps the Darkwalker had just come in to take advantage of the situation. Or it's even possible that the Darkwalker had been a result of the cataclysm. A side effect.

[desperate_times_right]

“Local legend says the Darkwalker needs to eat the world so the world can be reborn,” Chloe says. Signs point to yes. “Which would explain why it's so put out by us not being a part of nature or whatever.”

Long Road

[the_second_noel]

It's not the most brilliant opening, but Noel would die before he leaves it hanging. At the present moment he's seated in front of the fire, patiently jury-rigging a darn in one pair of trousers using the frayed thread from a second unsalvageable pair.

"Yeah, so I hear." He sucks his teeth in contemplation. "Penny for your thoughts on that?"

Re: Long Road

[dies_irate]

"I'm not sure what it means," he says honestly, because it just seems like another place for terrible shit to happen. It's not as if they have a purpose here, beyond surviving. And if surviving is the point, then familiar dangers are better than new ones.

"Other than... perhaps another place to fish."

Re: Long Road

[the_second_noel]

A hum of agreement. "So's we don't exhaust the stock we got here, with new people comin' in." He doesn't have to think long to come up with more comparisons. The food chain is on his mind a lot. "Might be harder to farm. Easier to get salt."

Re: Long Road

[dies_irate]

"Salt?"

Because John's still a relative newbie to food in general, and most certainly to human (or animal) dietary needs.

Re: Long Road

[the_second_noel]

"Salt."

And a smile tugs up the corner of Charlie's mouth. There's something nice about filling in landmarks in the empty parts of John's map of the world.

"You ever been to the sea? Great big fuckin' thing. You evaporate the water, and hey presto, you got salt. Tastes fuckin' good. Meat, you can pack it in salt to dry it out, make it last longer before it goes bad. Kinda the same idea as buryin' it in snow, only chewier."

Re: Long Road

[dies_irate]

There's a lot that Charlie just provided but he picks up on the important parts.

"I've never been to the sea, no," and he only sounds a little fussy about it. Charlie will be familiar with this sort of fuss. It's why he's asking about all this, his curiosity about the whole thing intense but well-balanced by his obvious cautiousness.

"So... to get salt..." he glances towards the door, to where Arthur had gone out earlier, "do you think we should try and go to the beach? The ocean?"

If they need it...

Try Honesty

[the_second_noel]

When Charlie sleeps, he's either completely dead to the world or catnapping, with very little in between. He comes out of his own dream with a groggy snort. There's a pause that might be him debating whether or not it's worth it. Then he lifts a hand with the speed and fine motor control of a zombie rising from the grave, brings it to an emergency landing on his forehead, and pulls it down his face to pry his eyes open.

And stares.

"Uh, Jesus Christ, that's fuckin' new."

It's less 'measured and dry' and more 'surprised and alarmed', but I'm sure we can chalk this up to perfectly mundane reasons such as not being fully awake yet. That's probably it.

Re: Try Honesty

[dies_irate]

There's a shift in the color almost immediately as soon as he turns his attention to Charlie: from those bright, panicked spikes to something deeper blue-green with little blooms of warm pink, the panicked yellow fluttering at the edge of the field as an afterthought.

"Yeah-" he agrees gruffly, looking at his arms, coiling and uncoiling his tentacles together and apart in a curious check over. "I don't... I'm not controlling it."

He looks to Charlie and the pink filters through more.

"You're seeing what I'm seeing, right?"

Re: Try Honesty

[lestercraft]

Arthur, who where possible tends to burrito himself between blankets and John in his sleep to retain as much warmth as his unbearably skinny body can handle, grunts and baps John weakly in annoyance.

"John, thought I told you t'keep the window shut." Because obviously this is an aurora localised entirely in their bed and not shenanigans, as he digs himself out from the blankets to give him a bleary look.

Not that the look is easy to tell, since when he surfaces his eyes are completely gold, with red glints to it that make the streaks down his face look like he's leaking gilt blood, wrapped and smeared around his half-missing ear, leaking from his throat. There's no actual harm, just the aesthetic, but it's a hell of a thing to look at.

Re: Try Honesty

[the_second_noel]

Charlie is already starting to nod, opening his mouth to answer John in the affirmative. Then he sees Arthur's head poke out of the blanket nest, bleeding gold from his eyes, and it recontextualises things a little for him.

His eyes go wide, and then flat. Nah, it's cool, he actually sees that kind of thing all the time. Totally fine and normal thing to wake up to in his world.

"Oh," he says quite bluntly, as if this is the hideous vision of Arthur's fault, "I see I'm dreamin' still." And he does a full roll abruptly in the opposite direction, taking an irritable amount of blanket with him. Mumbled: "Not in the fuckin' mood, alright?"

Re: Try Honesty

[dies_irate]

John, however, has never had his senses meddled with like that. He trusts what he sees, which is why when he sees the grievous wounds on Arthur, sees his beautiful eyes full of blood and his throat cut open and the burn marks near his temple, he cries out in horror, his aura a jarring mix of deep alarm red and bright desperate magenta, love and desperation entwined with spikes of electric yellow pain.

"Arthur!"

And he's grabbing up the blankets to try and stop the wound immediately, careful not to do more damage to him with his own strength as his voice goes ragged and wet.

"Arthur, what the fuck? What the fuck happened?!"

Re: Try Honesty

[lestercraft]

"Charlie, what are y-John-!!"

Whatever he was going to ask about Charlie's annoyed reaction is immediately superseded by John nearly punching him in the throat as he wraps the blanket around him, putting pressure on and making Arthur cough from the abrupt impact as he immediately grabs John's wrist to pull him off again before he gets fucking strangled.

"John, what the fuck are you-?!" And then he finally pauses, eyes widening in realisation as he sees the colours flickering wildly around John.

And the grip on John's arm turn to a gentler squeeze, still pulling him away but softer as his voice comes out completely baffled. "John, you're glowing."

Re: Try Honesty

[the_second_noel]

John's panic knocks the last grogginess out of Charlie, and he's able to reflect that yeah, he's been cognisant of his own dreams before, and no, this is not what it's like. So unless he's about to surmise that this is a Capital D Dream instead--

Well, as a rule he tries not to waste his weekends thinking he's back with the King. So.

Anyway, John and Arthur's little scuffle gives Charlie time to recontextualise everything again, to think 'oh shit' at himself, and to hop up out of the bed.

"Like a goddamn neon sign," he confirms, circling the bed as if it'll give him a better view on this whole situation. Arthur, thank god, seems confused rather than hurt. That's more easily helped. "And you, kid, you look like you burst. You got some kinda, I dunno what it is, gold ichor and blood comin' outta..."

A tense gesture towards just his whole head-neck area.

"Eyes, neck, ear, damn near everywhere. It's a sight."

Okay, so that didn't have his usual poetry, so sue him.

Re: Try Honesty

[dies_irate]

"Who the fuck cares if I'm glowing?!" and John is growling, but it's a wet sort of growling, a 'HELP ME' sort of growling, desperate and panicked. The electric blaring red and yellow has not calmed down. "Arthur is bleeding!"

Re: Try Honesty

[the_second_noel]

"John, I seen so many guys bleed to death that I lost count. That ain't what's happening. For one thing, he ain't makin' the right noises."

Don't get him wrong, he sounds stressed, but not exactly for the same reasons.

shuddering.

[afterdrop]

In the months that the kid has been crashing between Arthur's house and his own place up the hill - a looping cycle, depending on his teenage moods - moments like these have been few and far between: a long, deep sleep on Arthur's couch, gangly limbs sprawled half onto the floor. He needs them just a couple of times a week, and he's made himself scarcer the more full the little house has gotten, not wanting to drain on space or resources. Sometime today he crashed hard, though, and when the shaking of the house fails to wake him, the impact of being tipped onto the floor certainly does.

"Whassit?" He shouts out a slurred, confused response, all curly bedhead and dried drool, and looks around for the source of the voice. "Did something happen?"

What he completely fails to notice is that, in his alarm, he's gone partially incorporeal and sunk halfway through the floorboards - something he's certainly been trying his best not to do in front of his newer sometimes-housemates. Bloody embarrassing.

Re: shuddering.

[dies_irate]

John has been informed of Charles's... interesting situation. It's not entirely unlike his own, cause it's not like he'd had a body before this at all.

So when he sees Charles go through the floor-

"Holy shit!"

...it's not so much that he's surprised as he's alarmed and unsure what he's supposed to do.

"Are you okay?!"

He has no idea.